Readjusting
by TheWaffleKid
Summary: The Minutemen restarted EVERYTHING, but more importantly their relationships. Derek has it out for Virgil, exposing himself to Stephanie. Zeke has to break Jay out of her shell. And Charlie has to take baby steps in his new found relationship with Jeannette...all while building the teleportation device. What can happen to the crew now?
1. Chapter 1

Virgil tried not to laugh when he saw Chester and Eugene because they looked so uncomfortable and afraid now that Zeke was sitting at their table. In the other time line, the three friends had grown used to sitting at this table after Chester and Eugene left it. Virgil had completely forgot that it used to be theirs in the beginning.

They tried to say hi, but Zeke merely replied with a grunt and a careless glance, which they misinterpreted as a leave-me-alone glare. The pair was more than relieved when Virgil and Charlie finally showed up.

"H-Heeeyy guys!" Chester said.

"Hey dude," Virgil talked to Zeke. "Charlie and I were thinking about eating out at the bleachers today."

"Give me a sec..." Zeke scanned the cafeteria and the lunch line.

Virgil looked around with him. "...Whooo are you lookin' for?"

The tall teen heaved a sigh and grabbed his lunch bag. "I'll tell you later."

"Hey guys, we'll see you around," Virgil told the other two, who had grabbed their trays to join the trio.

"Oh...okay," Eugene said. It made Virgil feel guilty, but the truth was he really only wanted to talk to Zeke and Charlie.

While the three made themselves comfortable in the bleachers, Virgil asked, "So who WERE you waiting for?"

"Jay."

"Is there a specific reason she didn't show up?"

"She's not ready."

Others would have taken Zeke's tone as a subtle threat, but Virgil now heard past that. He sounded sad...regretful. Virgil could kind of relate. He was getting closer to Stephanie back then, he even managed to kiss her! And all of it had been wiped away. The difference between the two boys was that one had to start over with a complete stranger.

Virgil clapped Zeke's shoulder reassuringly. "She will be."

The three ate in silence as they stared at the spot out in the field...the spot where the black hole opened and closed. The events played like a movie in Virgil's mind.

"I can't believe we're alive."

"I can't believe it's over." Zeke said at the same time Virgil spoke. "Aside from the black hole, I was actually having a lot of fun doing what we did."

Virgil grinned. "Even with the guards and the reporters."

Zeke shrugged and returned the grin. "Even then."

"It's a shame things turned out the way they did," Virgil said. "If the risks weren't as big as we saw...maybe we could build it again."

"I would never ever build that machine again," Charlie suddenly said. "You guys were losing your minds with it!"

Virgil laughed. "Are you saying that because you lost control of it?"

Charlie looked flabbergasted. "Wh-No!"

Virgil and Zeke shared a playful look. "Got 'im."

"The consequences could be more drastic next time, that's why I've concluded it's safer to follow the teleportation route," Charlie said a little triumphantly.

Zeke stopped eating altogether. "Charlie, NO."

"Why not?"

"Because it could turn out to be just as bad as time travel. Anything that involves warping, opening, reversing or closing a hole in the fabric of reality is bound to create trouble."

"But-"

"And what does teleporting do? It opens holes in the fabric of reality. So NO, Charlie. No teleportation," Zeke concluded.

"You can have fun making other things," Virgil suggested timidly; although Zeke's attitude had improved considerably, he was still afraid to cross him when he argued. "Like an invisibility machine. Or something that can make you fly."

Charlie pouted. "That isn't SCIENCE. That's...That's...vigilante business!"

"Weren't we already doing that?" Virgil said.

"We were and because of it, he ended up getting carried away with Jeanette," Zeke implied slyly, poking around in his chocolate pudding.

Charlie's face turned red.

"Huh? What's this I hear?" Virgil teased, raising an eyebrow at the short genius.

"N-Nothing!"

Zeke and Virgil laughed.

"Let's just say that Charlie forgot Jeanette made the first move beforehand," Zeke chuckled.

Charlie's mouth dropped open and he tried to talk. Virgil and Zeke enjoy messing with him, but they knew when to stop.

"Well, whatever happened, let's be glad it was able to happen because we stopped the black hole." Virgil raised his milk carton. "To second chances."

His two friends tapped their cartons-Charlie more hastily than Zeke-and repeated after him. The bell rang and they picked up their trash. Virgil took in the happy, peaceful environment. People were laughing and going back to finish the school day, oblivious to the fact that they were living the day a second time.

It made the blonde feel inspired. "You know what? Let's celebrate. After all, we WERE almost stuck in the past."

"What did you have in mind, Virg?" Zeke asked.

"A movie. And a celebratory meal at The Burger Hour."

"Just the three of us?"

Virgil snorted. "Come on, dude. When have we EVER done anything without the Minutegirls?"

Zeke shrugged. "Stephanie never officially became one."

Virgil simply stared at the tall teen. Even though he didn't say anything, his intention to invite Stephanie along was transparent. He sighed. When did he become so predictable?

Zeke chuckled and raised his shrug higher. "Sorry dude, but it's the truth."

"Whatever man," Virgil grunted, upset that Zeke could read him so easily. The three dumped their trash and said goodbye before splitting up to go to class. Further ahead, Virg saw Stephanie buying a drink from the vending machine. Grinning, he picked up the pace to go talk to her.

...

Zeke wondered if Jay would agree to go to the movies with the group and he broke out of his train of thought when he saw her climbing down the stairs.

To him, she was perfect. She wasn't drop dead gorgeous, or had natural features of a beautiful queen. She was just an average girl who understood his sense of loneliness, who actually had common sense that helped her survive three years of absolutely no friendly contact. How she managed to have a huge stash of sarcasm hidden inside her made no sense, but she did. And it was fun to talk to her.

Zeke thought back to all the conversations they had, all the times he made her laugh and he managed to see that pretty Vampire Smile. He missed that Jay and he wondered if he would be able to coax her out of the current state she was in, that depressed stage he knew all too well.

Then a sudden thought stabbed him.

He sounded like he was trying to change her to the way he wanted her. Up to that point, his thoughts had been, "She's in her sweater stage, she's not the girl she was before, she's not ready, what if she never is?"

It disgusted Zeke when he realized his thoughts were about changing her instead of accepting her for who she was. If he truly liked her, he should be able to embrace all sides to her.

He watched her maneuver so she wouldn't touch anyone at the base of the stairs, the busiest part. Her sense of style was so much different now than it was pre-black hole. She wore more feminine things before. They were still dark, but in good taste. Now she wore a black hoodie with rolled up sleeves.

He remembered himself noticing her figure, her v-neck shirts, and he watched her walk to her next class.

Did he initially pay attention to her because of her looks? Is that all he was attracted to? If she never became the date he left at the Homecoming dance...

...would he still like her?

 **-XYZ-**

 **Hey y'all! I know it's been a while since the first part of the story and I apologize. I FINALLY worked up a storyline I was content with. ^-^ I originally wanted more Derek drama, but it would have interfered too much with the teleportation reveal. And other stuff... Anyway, I'm back and here's the sequel to "If Things Went Differently." :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Zeke and Virgil leaned on the school statue to wait for Charlie to show up. The blonde talked about choosing what movie to watch and movie times and who was going to ride with who. Then he said he already invited Stephanie during lunch time. He nudged Zeke. "What about you? Have you already talked to Jay?"

"...No."

Virgil straightened himself up. "Why not?"

"I was going to, right, I saw her at the stairs the cafeteria, but...I don't know, dude. I just worry that...I may not really like her for HER." Zeke had used more knife hands than he normally did.

"What makes you say that?"

"I keep thinking about her changing instead of the chance that she may stay like that...and I don't know if I'd keep liking her then or not." Zeke shrugged. "To me, if someone thinks like that, they never had intentions to be with the other to begin with."

"Well..." Virgil tried to choose his words carefully. "Have you considered that that may be Jay's 'true form?' Dang, I sound like I'm talking about a Dragon Ball Z character. But you have to remember that she was alone for three years. She moved away from everyone she knew, all her close friends and teachers. The way she is now is a result of being isolated with no reason to be...alive, if I'm making any sense. She still is that girl from the dance, she just needs a reason to break out of her shell again."

Virgil paused to see if the tall teen had anything to say, but he was staring at the ground with a blank expression.

Virgil shrugged. "If all else fails, why not get to know this side of her too? Who knows, you might fall in love with her...from a different angle."

Zeke chuckled under his breath and elbowed the blonde. "Try to sound more manly when you're giving me these pep talks, okay? We sound like a pair of gossiping females."

Charlie's loud arrival got their attention. "So are we going to play video games today? If that's the case, I was wondering if you could drop me off at my house so I could work on something."

Zeke stood straight and shouldered his bag. "You guys go ahead, I'm going to find Jay."

"Have you talked to Jeannette about the movie?" Virgil pointed at Charlie.

The short genius turned red again and he looked down as he started to twirl a backpack strap. "Uuhhhhh, nnnno?"

Zeke suddenly seemed more alarmed. "Why not? No." He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. "Forget I asked. But you still need to go talk to her."

"Why?!" Charlie threw his arms wide. "I don't want to talk to her! I don't want her to go even if I did ki...kiiiii-do what I did!"

"Listen Charlie," Zeke slouched over him, "I need you to invite her because Jay won't go unless she's there."

Charlie's eyes were wide with fear. Just like Virgil, he had become close to the tall biker, but that didn't mean he was completely free of his occasional anger. "Th-Then maybe YOU should go invite her!"

Virgil almost whistled in amazement. Charlie grew a lot of guts to say that, he would have never said something so bluntly to someone like Zeke.

'We really have changed a lot.' Virgil eased the two away from each other and addressed Charlie. "Dude, you're more nervous than I thought, but for whatever reason it is, you have to set it aside. YOU'RE the one that made a move on Jeannette, she needs some sort of explanation."

"It's the least she deserves, nerd." Zeke occasionally called him that as a playfully harsh nickname. "She's been going after you for a while, you kiss her and then avoid her? That's a dick move."

"Whoa!" Zeke had the biggest swearing problem Virgil had ever seen in anyone. He had been cutting down lately, but a few words slipped here and there.

"There's no need for that language," Charlie scolded at the same time of Virgil's exclamation. He looked at the front doors of the school. "...Fine. I'll go talk to her."

Grinning a little, Zeke started towards the school. "And I'll go find Jay."

"And I'll just...wait...out...here," Virgil sighed and leaned on the statue.

...

Zeke was glad Jay was still at her locker. Deep down, he felt sad and nostalgic, but above that Virgil gave him the energy he needed.

"Hey there," he said.

She looked at him in surprise. "How did...How did you know where my locker was?"

Zeke shrugged. "I just roamed the halls until I found you, but it doesn't matter. I need to talk to you."

"About?"

"Why didn't you show up to eat lunch?"

She frowned slightly and tore her gaze away. "Because...Because I don't KNOW anyone."

"Virgil-"

"Yes, I do know Virgil because we were partnered up one time before, but that's all. He could have changed, for all I know."

"I'm pretty sure he hasn't." Zeke couldn't really say, but what with everything they went through-the time traveling, the black hole, whatever it was with Stephanie and Derek-Virgil was a stronger person. Zeke shrugged. "Maybe he changed for the better, you'll never know until you actually spend time with him."

Jay gave him a suspicious look and slammed her locker shut. "Look...I don't know how you became confused, but I don't...there's nothing PERSONAL going on between Virgil and I."

Zeke's eyes widened in alarm and he felt a tad bit embarrassed. "I didn't mean like that, I just-" He closed his eyes for a second to take a breather. "Virgil is the only one you know of our little group. You also have Jeannette."

Jay's eyes flashed when she heard her name. Maybe it was a no-go trying to get her to come closer to the group by using Virgil. But there was absolutely no reason why he shouldn't use Jeannette.

"Look, we're all going out to watch a movie at 5:30. You should go with us. Jeannette's going to, so if you need a ride you could go with her. Or...you could ask me."

He regretted the last sentence the second he said it. Damn, damn, he pushed too much on her!

"Uhhh...which movie theater exactly?" She was looking away from him now, concentrating really hard at an empty spot.

"The one at the mall. Oh, then we're going to The Burger Hour to eat."

She furrowed her eyebrows worriedly. It bothered her, he could tell, he just wished he knew WHY. Maybe it was because it was always full of teens. He couldn't stand it much either before because of the exact same reason. "The Burger Hour?"

"Yeah. So do you want to come?"

"I...I don't know. I'll think about it."

The tall teen didn't know why he felt sad. Maybe it was because that was the same reply she gave him when he invited her to eat lunch with the guys. Or maybe it's because she hadn't looked at him in the eyes when she answered.

"...I need to go now. I'll see you around."

He watched her walk away. How could he get to know this side of her when she was pushing him away?

...

Charlie would have usually had a paragraph prepared and rehearsed. But this was so sudden, his brain was scrambling to figure out what to say. He kept flicking his hair out of his face and wiping his hands down his pants. He couldn't get out of doing it either; Zeke would most definitely hang him up from the statue and he didn't want that.

What to say, what to say?

He went around the corner and saw her slam her locker door shut. Immediately, he froze and turned around.

'I can't do this! I can't talk to her!'

Then he remembered the kiss he gave her in the library.

'It's the least she deserves,' Zeke's voice reminded him. Charlie recalled every day she smiled at him, called him a ridiculous bird name, and helped out during his cooking classes. She was always there for him, even when he didn't want her.

And HE had kissed HER.

He did owe her an explanation. He turned right back around and forced himself to walk towards her.

He didn't mind the two times they had kissed. It was sweet and it had taken his breath away because it was something he hadn't been prepared to receive in his LIFETIME. He never thought about girls and no girls ever thought about him. Only Jeannette.

She saw him further ahead and to his surprise, she smiled and waved. "Hi, hummingbird!"

Charlie caught himself looking at her smile and he fought down the urge of embarrassment. "J-Jeannette. Uhhh...I need to talk to you."

She licked her fingers and fixed his bangs. "What about?"

"About the...about the kiiiii...the kiiiiiii...about what happened in the library."

"Oh that? That's okay," she easily waved it away and hugged her colorful book bag tightly. "I'm just so happy to finally have a boyfriend!"

"A boy-boyfriend?" Charlie's voice became a high pitched squeal.

"Yeah well at first I was like, really surprised when you just kissed me out in public like that, but then I really thought abo-"

It was all too much. Charlie closed his eyes with his fingers. "Jeanette! Just slow down."

"What is it, pigeon?" she bent down to meet his gaze.

"I...do like you, but I'm not ready to be your boyfriend yet," Charlie said quietly. He didn't like seeing her smile fading along with her happy expression. But it was the truth. "Look Jeannette, I do like you. But instead of jumping into this so suddenly, can't we just...take this slowly and...see where it heads?"

Jeannette smiled slowly. It wasn't her usual wide, cheerful smile. It was a soft, reassuring one.

She sounded like she wanted to cry when she spoke. "Of course."

The way she talked, it made Charlie wonder if the smile was meant for his sake or for her own.

"I've waited this long, haven't I?" she added a little more triumphantly. "And sometimes, to be able to get a glimpse of the rarest birdies, one has to wait an extra long time."

Charlie let out an amazed chuckle. "Right! Uh...The group is going to watch a movie at the mall later on at 5:30. Do you want to come along?"

This time, she nodded more profusely and with her usual smile. "Absolutely parakeet!"

"Great!" Charlie clapped his hands awkwardly. Now that he dealt with what he needed to do, how should he excuse himself? "Uhh, I need to-"

He jabbed behind him but he really couldn't form the words to say, 'I need to leave now.'

"Sure thing." Jeannette skipped up and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'll see you later tonight, cockatoo!"

Charlie watched her skip away with a ridiculous smile, his hand on his cheek. Things worked out...more than perfectly.


	3. Chapter 3

It was Jay's first time going out ever. It was all a blur, the emotions of excitement, wonder and anxiousness. She felt like she wanted to throw up and she caught herself spacing out as she tried to process everything that was happening.

The funny thing is that the only thing happening at the moment was a car ride.

Once they got to the mall, the girls gave Mrs. Pachelewski a quick 'Thank you!' and got out of the car.

Jay gazed at the massive building. "...Wow! It's amazing."

"You really haven't been here before?" Jeannette circled her arm around Jay's and led her to the entrance.

"No...we don't really...go out." It felt like she was sight seeing. Everything was colorful and lit up, like a video game. It was way different than the little plaza she and her parents occasionally went to go visit. She saw a ton of food places, little kiosks in the middle, clothing stores, toys, games, a...bungee cord?

Jay stopped walking altogether. "Wait...You can bungee jump in here?!"Jeannette laughed. "Yeah, the mall is two stories tall, they have room for it."

Jay saw kids and pre-teens gathered around and her heart began to drop. Was it only for-?

She saw the age requirement on the sign (12-18 years) and she smiled, letting out a relieved laugh. "I can go on that! Jeannette, I can seriously go on that?"

"Yes, but maybe a little later," Jeannette pulled on her arm. "We've got to go meet everyone at the theaters."

Jay's eyes were buzzing back and forth, watching the people, watching the stores, there was so much to look at! "This is surreal!"

The girls soon made it to an aisle completely made of mirrors. It was incredible to see, but Jay avoided looking at her reflection; she wasn't ready to feel disappointed so early on a night like this.

"Hey everyone!" Jeanette said when they made it out. They were in a swanky little eating area for the movie customers. Jay felt her throat close up.

There were too many people she didn't know. And they were looking at her and Jeannette.

Okay, maybe it wasn't A LOT a lot, but it felt like it. And she was already beginning to feel intimidated by the cute blonde that stood among the group.

"Jeannette! Jay! You made it!" Virgil exclaimed.

"Hi Virgil," Jay said through a painfully forced smile.

'Forget the blonde girl. Forget the short kid. Forget...the handsome biker.'

"It's so good to see you again," Virgil said.

"Yeah same here. You look the same as you did before."

"You do too." He smiled briefly at her before gesturing to the blonde. "Girls, I'd like you to meet my childhood friend Stephanie."

"Hi!" Jeannette waved enthusiastically.

Stephanie giggled. "Hi, it's nice to meet you."

Her kind tone eased Jay's nerves a little and she replied with a quiet, "Hey."

"Aaand Jay, this is Charlie," Virgil pulled the short teen out in front. "You've probably never met him before right?"

"No."

Charlie looked at Virgil in confusion and it made her feel hostile. Why would he react that way? Was there something wrong? Virgil gave Charlie a just-do-it glare and the short teen waved. "Uh, nice to meet you Jade."

That took her by surprise. Her glare softened. How did he know...? "Uhh, hi."

"Aren't you on the cheerleading team?" Jeannette talked to Stephanie. "I see you around when I'm out ith my drama friends."

'A cheerleader?!' Jay froze. No wonder she was so perfect. People who participated in school groups looked the best.

"Well, yeah I am," Stephanie admitted. "It's very fun but very dangerous as well. If you make one wrong move, you could end up with a broken leg...or worse."

Jeannette hit it off with her very well. The two girls talked about cheerleading and acting while the group slowly walked to the concessions.

"You okay?" Zeke suddenly appeared by Jay's side.

"Yeah."

It was obviously a lie. She was overwhelmed and Zeke's attention wasn't making it any better.

"How are you liking it so far?"

She thought to the lights, the colors...the bungee cord. Involuntarily, she smiled. "Pretty okay."

Before they officially made it to the concessions, Virgil stopped them and told them what movie they were going to watch, handing each person a ticket. Jay's eyes went wide. "Virgil I can't take it."

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't pay for it. That's not fair for you!" she panicked.

"Whoa, Jay, calm down," Virgil said. "It's nothing, really."

She pulled her wallet out and scrambled to pull out some money.

"Hey, hey," Zeke grabbed her hand and pulled it away from her wallet. "We split the bill, forget about it."

"What?"

"Just enjoy yourself and watch the movie." Zeke took the ticket from Virgil and put it in Jay's hand. "It's not a big deal."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Zeke and Virgil said at the same time.

"...Okay."

...

Jay couldn't concentrate on the movie very well. Zeke had taken a seat next to her and confiscated the arm rests. She kept her arms crossed to help ease the urge to hold his hand. He offered a few of his snacks and she politely rejected.

When the movie ended, Virgil talked about going to The Burger Hour. A part of Jay felt sad because she really wanted to stay and explore the mall, but alas, she found herself in the parking lot ten minutes later with the others.

"I can take someone, if any of you are interested." Zeke put his helmet on.

Jay glanced and saw that he had a second helmet secured on the rear end of his motorcycle. She wondered what it must be like to ride around on that thing. Fast and free. She wanted to volunteer so bad and not just because of the motorcycle.

But she was too nervous. She looked at the bike, fighting to push through the knot in her throat. Zeke must have noticed her staring because he jabbed a thumb at his bike and said something. Even though the helmet muffled his voice, Jay knew it was an invitation to ride with him.

She shook her head quickly. "No thanks."

Everyone else piled in Virgil's car. The only thing she could focus on was the sound of Zeke's motorcycle trailing behind them as they went to The Burger Hour. What must it feel like to ride, to hold him tightly, to rest her head on his shoulders?

She shook her head. 'Knock it off. He doesn't see you like that, no point in being disappointed.'

...

"So Jay, how did you meet Virgil?" Stephanie turned to Jay mid-bite.

"Uhh..." To eat or not to eat? She lowered her hamburger. "He and I had a class together as juniors. Our teacher made us do a project so we became partners."

Stephanie laughed. "Really? Was he pulling his own weight?"

What was this? She seemed so at ease, it surprised her how genuinely NICE she seemed.

Jay grinned slightly. "He did."

"What did you two have to do for this project?"

She smiled at how ridiculous it was about to sound. "We had to make a radio station from the...'50s? '70s?"

"Yeah, it was pretty fun!" Virgil said. "We were VJ Live, bringing you awesome jingles from the past."

Zeke chuckled as if it was an inside joke.

"Remember the Pepsi one?" Jay asked.

"But of course." Virgil cleared his throat. "Do do do do, ba doodee do da da. Do do do do, ba doodee do dada. Pepsi cola, hits the spot."

He pointed at Jay and she shook her head in embarrassment. "No, I can't."

Stephanie laughed and rubbed her back. "Plleeeaaassee?"

"Pepsi cola, hits the spot," Virgil repeated.

Jay gave him a wide, embarrassed smile. Her cheeks felt warm but before she knew it, she heard herself sing along with him. "Twelve whole ounces, that's a lot. Twice as much for a nickel too!"

Virgil made a popping sound with his mouth. "Pepsi cola is the drink for you."

"Nickel, nickel, nickel, nickel, nickel, nickel, nickel," Jay could barely say it without chuckling in embarrassment, but Virgil joined her.

"Nickel, nickel, nickel, nickel, nickel, nickel, nickel."

The table burst out in laughter and she buried her face in her hands, still laughing and smiling in complete shyness.

"That's catchy!" Stephanie exclaimed and she looked at her. "Will you sing it again so I can learn it?"

"Me too!" Jeanette added.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Zeke staring at her. Her smile wavered as she started to feel nervous.

"Uh, Virgil?"

"Mm," he held up a finger and hurried to chew his mouthful of food. Then he pulled out his phone to look it up. "Hang on Jay. I've got you."

 **-XYZ-**

 **So here's this. I just wanted to let you guys know that I have actually been to a mall that has a little bungee cord inside of it, so I'm just using that experience here. And that Pepsi Cola jingle is actually true too. It's just so catchy! XD**


	4. Chapter 4

Stephanie told everyone her dad was picking her up and they all waited until she left to do anything. They cleaned their table while talking about who was riding with who. Zeke was thinking and he probably looked angry because Virgil elbowed him. "You okay?"

Zeke glanced over at Jay. "What do I do? I want to talk to her, but she shuts down whenever I try."

"I dunno," Virgil shrugged. "Maybe you need to give her a push."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't give her the option to shut down."

"What?"

"Virgil!" Jeannette came with Charlie. "I feel really bad asking last minute, but my mom called me and told me she had to run an errand so can I, pretty please, get a ride from you?"

"Sure, no problem," Virgil smiled at her. Everyone went outside and they made a little group between Virgil's car and Zeke's motorcycle.

'Don't give her the option...' Zeke went to get his helmets and he took one over to Jay, sticking it directly in front of her.

"What the-?"

"Come on. I'll give you a ride."

She tentatively took the helmet and blinked a few times as if to wake up from a dream. "Wait...what?"

"Virgil's already giving the other two rides. If you don't want to ride with me, then leave the helmet on the rack." He put his helmet on and climbed on his bike. Damn...he was too rough. Would it scare her away and completely destroy any chance he had with her?

Slowly, she put the helmet on. Zeke smiled at how big it looked for her. She got on his bike and lightly held onto his waist.

...

Okay. He was guilty. He liked how she held firmly onto him when he turned the corners. He was tempted to speed up on purpose, but he didn't do it because he was taking directions from her.

Aaaand it would've been just pathetic.

He parked on the driveway and Jay got off, putting his helmet on the rack.

When he started to do the same thing, she waved her two hands at him. "Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?!"

He gave her a duh-what's-it-look-like-I'm-doing expression and gestured to her house with his helmet. "I'm walking you up to your door."

"You don't need to."

"Well I am." He hung his helmet on one of the handles.

She jumped in front of him and held her hand up firmly. "Stop. I don't need you to walk me up to my door. It's literally RIGHT THERE."

He shrugged. "Well that's a shame isn't it?"

...And he walked around her.

"Wait, wait!" She pulled on his leather jacket to no avail. "Zeke, seriously! It's fine."

"What? Sorry I can't hear you," he called over his shoulder.

She came around to the front and tried to stop him. He felt so many exhilarating things the second her hands touched him, but he also felt amused. She was using all of her body weight to try to stop him, but it wasn't working.

He laughed. "You're so short."

She stopped and glared up at him. "I am NOT. I am 5'4 and a half."

"What's that half inch supposed to do?" Zeke teased.

She crossed her arms and pouted angrily. "A lot of things."

She looked like a kid who lost her toy and Zeke found it so funny, he laughed. "Okay."

She glared at him. "Go back to your bike. I can walk myself up."

"Nope. You may as well indulge me. It'll be faster than if we argue about it."

She sighed. "...Fine."

Zeke couldn't decide if he was making any progress or not. He didn't visit her house before, so...maybe it was? They reached her porch up in silence.

"There, we're here. You happy now?" she gave him an attitude. It bothered him because he didn't do anything bad other than...forcefully walk up to her house. Since he did deserve it, he calmed his own attitude and shrugged.

"I dunno, are you? Did you have fun with everyone today?"

"Yeah, it was pretty okay."

"Jay..." Zeke didn't even know how to word what he wanted to say so he figured, why not wing it? "They're all good people who want to be your friends. You have a chance to be with people instead of being on your own. Take it from someone who's been where you are right now. It feels so...great to finally find people who are worthwhile and who make every day worth waking up and seeing it through to the end. Don't push us away."

She stayed quiet for so long, he thought she was ignoring him. "...But why would they want to be friends with me? Why would anyone want to be friends with someone else?"

"Why do we even live? What's the point of going through the motions of life if, in the end, we're all going to die?" Zeke said. "We may as well do things that gratify us before we're done, right? And we may as well find the few friends that make high school more bearable before it completely ends."

He stepped off the porch to leave. "You have a good night Jay."

He felt like he chatted her ear off. Maybe she didn't listen to everything he said...

"Zeke."

He was pretty surprised that she called out to him at all. When he turned, he was relieved to see that she seemed more at peace.

"Thanks for the ride."

He grinned. "Anytime."

 **-XYZ-**

 **Maybe later on I will try to explain WHY she didn't want him to walk her up, but I'll do it now too. She didn't want her parents to think the wrong thing was going on (though I'm totally making it happen soon). *Shrug* Yes, yes, devious writer, I know. ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

After saying goodbye to his friends in the morning, Virgil was surprise attacked by Derek. Well, not "attacked," just...suddenly cornered in an aggressive manner.

"What the hell were you doing yesterday with Stephanie, huh?"

"Hey back off." Virgil pushed him away lightly. He had never been in-Well...yes he HAD been in a fight before. With Derek. And he was getting his ass handed to him so it was needless to say that Virgil was getting nervous.

"You and your group of morons need to stay away from her," Derek pointed menacingly at him, once again crossing the personal area line.

"Hey, watch it fake jockey," Virgil snapped, then he frowned. "Wait...How did you know we were with Stephanie yesterday?"

Derek gave him an are-you-kidding-me? look. "You went to THE BURGER HOUR and you really didn't think I'd find out?"

"Uhhh..." Yeah, that was a mistake on his part.

"Well it doesn't matter," Derek waved it away hastily. "I won't have you ruining my reputation by hanging around where you don't belong."

"Are you even listening to yourself right now?" Virgil scoffed. "You don't even care about Steph! All you've ever been worried about is yourself, she deserves way more than to be with a coward like you."

He regarded Derek in disgust. How could he have become THIS? After all the adventures they had together in their childhood...How could he be so mindless to worry about popularity? It saddened Virgil that Derek had fallen to the clutches of that fate.

"Why don't you just break it off and run to Jocelyn Lee already?"

Derek shoved him against a locker and hissed: "You better watch your damn mouth, Virgil or it's gonna bring you a lot of pain."

A small crowd had formed their dispute and Virgil got even more nervous. But he wasn't going to let Derek bully him ever again, not after finding out about what really happened in The Incident.

"If you want to beat me up, do it now so Steph can see you for what you really are," Virgil challenged.

"So what, you think if you run to her she'll choose you over me?"

"Maybe not, but she'll finally know the truth about everything. About how YOU were responsible for what happened to me and Charlie in The Incident."

Derek scowled at the mention of that day. "She's not going to believe you."

"With all these people here, she'll know that THIS was real."

Derek huffed angrily and glanced around, the doubt of fighting visible in his eyes. "I'm going to catch you soon enough, loser, and I won't do it in front of these people."

And with a final glare, he disappeared.

...

"Dude you look like you've seen a ghost. Are you okay?"

To be honest, Virgil was a little shaken up with his earlier encounter, even if it was short. He wondered how things would have gone if he said something different.

He shook the thoughts out of his head. "Derek...he was just being a donkey this morning."

Zeke chuckled. "An ass?"

"You already know I refuse to swear so yes, that."

"What happened?"

"He got all possessive about Stephanie. He found out we hung out with her yesterday and he was basically telling me to stay away from her."

Zeke's expression was serious and dark. "Did he get physical?"

"Nothing as serious as before," Virgil referred to his previous fight with the quarterback.

"I'm going to tell you how I did then, stay alert. Avoid starting any fights, but this time if he gets starts one, you best fight back," Zeke said.

"I'm not a fighter, I'm a..." Virgil struggled to find the word. "Comedian."

Zeke sighed and shook his head.

...

After their Public Speaking class, the boys split up for lunch. Zeke went to get his bagged lunch and Virgil was heading over to the lunch line. Just before he made it, he saw Steph.

"Hey Virgil!" she as cheerfully as usual.

"Hey Steph."

"I just wanted to say that that jingle has been stuck in my head all. Day. Long."

Virgil laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, it was so hard to concentrate in my math class today. I blame you and Jay," she teased.

He shrugged. "Well, we did-"

"Stephanie," Derek appeared out of nowhere. "What are you doing here?"

Virgil mentally groaned.

"I was just chatting with Virgil before I went to buy a drink," Stephanie said.

Derek chuckled, but to Virgil it seemed forced. He grabbed onto Stephanie's arm and he started to talk in a low tone. "Steph, babe, I've told you countless times not to go ahead of me."

"Ow? Derek, that's too tight."

"I keep telling you that you're my girlfriend and that we have to stick together, I mean we both have reputations to uphold."

"Derek let go of my arm," Stephanie whispered urgently, boring her eyes into him.

"I don't know what to think now that you're suddenly hanging out with Virgil again because Steph, you know HE left US."

Virgil acted on his pure urges at that point. He stepped in between the two and tore his arm away from Stephanie's. "Didn't you hear her? You're hurting her."

He got too cocky, he actually believed that Derek wouldn't do anything stupid in front of Steph. He didn't know how to react when he pushed him back and stalked towards him in an aggressive demeanor.

"Whoa, whoa!" Stephanie came in between the two and stared at her boyfriend in shock. "What are you doing?!"

"I've had enough of your crap, Virgil. This ends here." Derek swung at him, but he missed considering Virgil jumped back and Steph was in between, who was accidentally hurt in the process.

"Ow!"

"Hey, what the hell is going on?"

Zeke couldn't have had more perfect timing. He appeared from the crowd and stood by Virgil defensively, dropping his lunch bag on the group.

Derek ignored him and grabbed onto Steph's arm again, scowling at Virgil while he spoke. "We're leaving and for the last time, forget about Steph, forget about me, and forget that we were ever friends in the past."

"I refuse to be anywhere near you," Steph said angrily, trying to pull her arm free. "Let go of me."

Virgil surged forward and luckily for him Zeke jumped into action as well, grabbing the quarterback in a bear hug while Virgil separated him from Stephanie. He moved away with her as Zeke tossed Derek to the side.

"Stephanie! Steph! Are you okay?" A crowd of girls swarmed Virgil to be by her side, but she stared intensely at Derek who scrambled to get to his feet.

"I don't care who you think you are, but you just made a huge mistake," Derek growled at Zeke.

"Oh, I'm so scared," Zeke said mockingly.

"You," Steph broke up their conversation. She glared at Derek and pointed accusingly at him. "What's WRONG with you? You're picking fights and acting completely unreasonable for no reason."

"Steph, I alrea-"

"No, Derek!" she said sternly. "NOTHING constitutes your behavior today."

Derek stayed silent and he gave her a pleading look.

"I think we need to take a break," she continued quietly.

"Wait, babe!" Derek reached to her, but she had retreated to her friends and they stopped him from getting to her.

One held a hand up and jutted her hip out. "Whoa, where do you think you're going?"

Derek looked around at the scene and when he saw the crowd of people-the mix of all the cliques in the cafeteria-he restrained himself from trying to talk and left. One of Stephanie's friends noticed Zeke and she gave him a flirty smile. "Hey, thanks for standing up for her."

The biker made a disgusted face at her. Virgil stood by awkwardly as Steph was swarmed by countless 'are-you-okays?' He wanted to check in with her, but he didn't want to interrupt the girly kumbaya so he scratched his head.

Luckily for him, Stephanie reached out to him really fast and gave him a quick thanks before she was whisked away.

Virgil and Zeke shared a look and they separated themselves from the crowd of people, heading over to the lunch line.

"Thanks man," Virgil told him. "You're seriously always there whenever I need you for a fight and I'm grateful."

Zeke shrugged. "No need."

Chester and Eugene had caught up with them in the line.

"Are you guys crazy?" Eugene asked. "No one messes with the populars."

"It's suicide!" Chester added.

"But since they did fight for another popular, maybe they'll become popular too?" Eugene said.

Zeke scowled at them; these two got on his nerves without them even trying. They settled too much with the unspoken high school system. He bent down and snatched his lunch bag. "I'll see you at the table, Virg."

 **-XY-**

 **If it seems forced, I apologize. But I'm leaving it. :|**


	6. Chapter 6

Fear kept Jay from going to the cafeteria during lunch. She was already on her way when she saw the conflict go down-Stephanie standing in between Virgil and a jock-looking brunette. Her breath caught in her throat when Zeke showed up and he jumped into action with Virgil. He seemed so confident, it made her heart race really fast.

When the issue settled down, her eyes stayed glued on Zeke and Virgil up until he left Virgil in the lunch line. It seemed that he was heading her way so she ran up the stairs to the library. She still wasn't ready to join her...friends...for lunch. It was a difficult challenge.

She went through the motions of the day, as usual, but she kept thinking about yesterday night. The car ride, the movie, the food...She wanted more of it, but why was it so hard to reach out?

School ended and after she strolled to her locker, she decided she needed a trip to the nearest convenience store for a cold drink. Instead of going out her usual way, she went towards the athlete's hall where all the cheerleaders and jocks had their lockers.

It made her a uncomfortable to go there on her own because of how packed it would get. She wasn't surprised to see a few groups loafing around when she made it down there, but she WAS surprised when she saw Stephanie leaning against a wall, hugging a few textbooks tightly. She looked like she was thinking really hard and Jay could understand why, her boyfriend DID go all super-macho during lunch.

Her friends were probably doing something really fast, Stephanie wouldn't be by herself for no reason. She was way too nice and she was a cheerleader. Jay was about to leave but then she thought about how nice she was the night before and...she figured a few consoling words wouldn't hurt.

She took a few cautious steps in her direction. "...Stephanie?"

The pretty blonde looked up quickly and she gave Jay a soft smile when she saw her. "Hi Jay."

"Are you okay? I mean, I saw what happened at lunch and I just wanted to say I was sorry."

"It's okay, it's not your fault. I should have listened to my instinct about Derek a long time ago."

"Hmm..." Jay looked at Steph's feet. What could she say now? "If you ever wanna talk or something, I'm always around."

Stephanie giggled lightly. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you."

Jay gave her a soft smile in reply. "No, thank YOU. Thanks for hanging out yesterday. It was really fun."

"I had fun too. Maybe we could do it again sometime soon."

"Yeah, maybe." Jay didn't want to stick around until the other cheerleaders swarmed around Steph. She already had enough trouble trying to talk to one pretty cheerleader, she didn't need to stay and confront a whole group. "Well, I'll be going. Take care."

Stephanie waved, still smiling pleasantly. "I'll see you around, Jay."

...

Charlie had told Virgil he wanted to stay behind to do some extra work for the AV Club. At first, Virg was hesitant to let him stay without a ride, but Charlie reassured him he'd find a way. Worst case scenario was he'd have to text Virgil to come pick him up anyway.

The only two people in the AV Club room were Charlie and Jeannette, who was working on her chemistry homework. While he typed away at the computer, she would ask him a few questions about her assignment. He didn't mind helping her after all, it was for science.

She worked quietly through her textbook problems while he tried to figure out if his new formula would work. Yes, it did make him sad that his two best friends weren't onboard with his teleportation idea...but Charlie HAD to work to discover it. It would be a major breakthrough for the scientific world, making the 21st century a lot like what movies predicted it would be. With teleportation, hover cars, holograms...

Charlie thought about Back to the Future 2 and he chuckled to himself. HE would be the one to jumpstart THAT future. He and his friends did believe that the future would be like that, but unlike Virgil and Zeke, Charlie believed it would happen in THEIR lifetime.

And it would start with him.

His computer beeped and colorful lights flashed repetitively. He...He...

"I did it," he whispered in awe.

Jeannette looked up. "Did you say something, humming bird?"

"I discovered teleportation!" he backed away from the computer and grabbed two fistfuls of his hair. "I did it!"

Jeannette jumped up and clapped, squealing in excitement. She hugged a stunned Charlie and hopped around like an energetic child.

"What do we do now?" she asked once she calmed down.

"Now...we get a room."

"To do what?"

"To start building."

...

Charlie and Jeannette found Vice Principal Tolkan around the corner to the Main Office, admiring a mini model of the high school. He was distracted by it and as much as he was annoyed by being bothered, the pair managed to get permission to use Room 77.

Down at the basement door, Charlie looked at the key in his hand as he felt a stir of emotions. It brought the Minutegang's good old times to mind and he wondered what everything would be like if the black hole hadn't happened.

If Jay hadn't jumped back to-No. If Marcy and Riley hadn't discovered the-No.

If Charlie had just locked that door...

The short teen squeezed the key and shook his head slightly before opening the door. He slowly led Jeannette inside, looking at the exposed pipe Zeke had to duck under every time he visited.

"Whoa," she exclaimed, gaping around.

But Charlie didn't hear her. He was just eager to see-

He stopped completely and Jeannette bumped into him. They had reached the center of the room. It was messy, cluttered and filled with cobwebs, but in his mind he saw the time machine. The adventures he had with his friends...

Jeannette gently laid a hand on his back. "You okay, sparrow?"

"Uh..." He scanned the room slowly and smiled softly to himself. He couldn't believe that adventure even existed, but somehow it had. "Yeah. I'm just happy to see it again."

"Again?"

"Yeah, well..." Charlie met her eyes and wondered if he should mention the time travel at all. She wouldn't believe him, of course, he had no proof. So what was the point? "Nothing, it's nothing."

"You sure?"

One day, he'd tell her but for now he just nodded. "Yeah. Let's start cleaning this place up a little."


	7. Chapter 7

Stephanie had texted Virgil almost the entire evening. She didn't want to call him because she was sobbing quietly. Of course, it wasn't like she caught Derek cheating with Jocelyn Lee, but the fact that they broke up still hurt. He was acting so differently nowadays, it made her heart yearn for the past when everything was perfect. But now, she didn't even know if she loved him.

Her cellphone kept ringing from calls and texts and social media messages, mainly from Derek.

I want to talk.

Steph, please.

Don't give me the silent treatment.

Steph, it wasn't what it seemed.

Let me just explain.

Paired with the sympathetic texts from her friends, it seemed like her phone was never going to stop ringing. It was irritating to keep ending calls and ignoring texts to talk to Virgil. So she quickly told him about Derek's texts and how she decided to turn her phone off so she could have time to think.

[Virgil] ok, take care & rest. & remember not to lose sight of what u really want & what's good for u.

[Virgil] If its too hard to tell what u should do, just imagine what ur parents would say

[Stephanie] Ur right, thank you

[Stephanie] See u tomorrow, Virg and thank u. XO

The pretty blonde sighed and tossed her phone to the side after turning it off. She put some music on and just sat on her bed, hugging her biggest stuffed bear for comfort.

She was probably making a big deal about the situation, but everything was slowly rotting with Derek and it saddened her. They've been going out for almost three years. Three years of romance, future planning, holding hands, kissing, hugging, cuddling, sharing and support. And now it's like all of that never existed.

She thought back to the beginning of their blossoming romance and the absolute joy that came along with it. She yearned for it so much, her chest ached and she squeezed her bear tighter.

"It hurts, Wiggles," she told the bear and buried her face in the back of it's head. "It hurts so much."

Stephanie stayed like that for a long time and when her mother knocked on her door, she was surprised when she saw the time. It's been two and a half hours.

"Come in!" Steph sniffed and scrambled to wipe her tears away.

"Steph, sweetie, it's Derek," her mother peeked in and waved the house phone, covering the speaker end, but her eyes widened when she saw her. "Hon, what's wrong?"

"Um, can you tell him I'll take a message?" Steph tried to keep her tone under control, but she failed.

Her mother came in and closed the door behind her. "Derek, she's taking a shower. I'll tell her to call you tomorrow, okay?...You have a good night, too. Okay, bu-bye."

Mrs. Jameson tossed the phone on Steph's bed and climbed on to sit next to her. She hugged her and stroked her hair.

"What happened?" she asked in a soothing tone.

"Nothing important, mom," Steph sniffed. "Really."

"Sweetie, I know a broken heart when I see one. If there's one thing in this world we can't hide, it's affairs of the heart."

"It's just...Derek was being a jerk today."

"Ahh so in a way, he disappointed you."

Stephanie nodded. "He's been acting weird ever since he talked to Virgil about two days ago."

"What do you mean?"

"He's been...more aggressive."

"Stephanie," her mother firmly grabbed her arm and forced her to look at her. "Has he ever been aggressive towards you? Because if he has, your father and I will rain upon him and his parents endless misery and lawsuits-"

"N-No, Mom!" Steph felt bad lying to her mom, but if she knew what happened during lunch earlier in the day, she'd most certainly lose it and stomp over to Derek's house right then. "He was being a jerk to Virgil and his friend!"

Mrs. Jameson's firm gaze softened. "Sweetie, there's got to be more to the story than just Derek and Virgil."

"I..." Stephanie immediately thought to Jocelyn Lee, a topic she had confronted Derek about various times. But if she told her mom about it, it would appear false and hysterical. "I guess today I saw something that I've been denying for a long time. He's changed from the beginning, mom...and it's hard for me to accept."

Mrs. Jameson took Stephanie's hands. "The best thing you can do is accept it and move on, dear. You can't be stuck on the past because if you are, you won't ever make it to the future. There are millions of boys out there that are dying to be by your side."

She wiped away one of Steph's newly formed tears. "It's natural to mourn at the end of a relationship because it's the end of something beautiful that became a part of you. But if Derek's changed and you don't feel comfortable with it, don't mourn for too long. One day, you'll find the prince of your dreams and you'll see that he's worth a million times more than Derek ever was."

Steph smiled softly and sniffed. "Thanks, mom."

"You got it, sweet pea." Mrs. Jameson kissed her daughter's forehead and jumped up from the bed, grabbing the phone on her way to the door. "I'll go make some hot chocolate for both of us. And honey..."

She looked back at Steph with a raised eyebrow, "...If that boy really did do something aggressive towards you, you better tell your father. Neither of us will ever stand for a boy who even ONCE physically harmed you."

Stephanie giggled through her new tears, wondering how she didn't inherit her mother's sass.

...

Virgil worried about Steph. A little part of him kept wondering if something happened during the last 12 hours and some curse was cast to a parallel universe where Stephanie and Derek got back together. He hoped not because she deserved to move on from that donkey. He went to his locker and found a folded note inside, which read:

I'm not giving up that easily. She's mine.

No need to wonder who THAT was from. With a disgusted scowl, Virgil crumbled it and shoved it in his pocket. During free time in Public Speaking, Virgil showed the note to Zeke.

"What the hell does he think this is, some high school, Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, musical drama?" the tall teen scoffed. "As far as I'm concerned, SHE decided she wasn't his anymore."

Virgil tapped his desk. "I'm worried, dude."

"What for?" Zeke snorted.

"What if he succeeds and Stephanie actually gets back together with him?"

"Well...One, her loss," Zeke began to count off his fingers. "Two, she'd be the most gullible female in existence. Three, good for you. You get rid of her cuz there are tons of fish in the sea. And four, it's not going to happen. Why? Because one, Derek's an asshole-"

"Whoa!"

Zeke raised his eyebrows. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Virgil thought about it for two seconds and he shrugged a shoulder. "Eh, I'll let you have this one."

"Point is dude, if she ran back to him after what happened I'd say it's a good thing because she wasn't meant for you anyway and it would save you from wasting any time with her."

"I guess."

The teacher was walking to his desk and he froze in his tracks in front of Jocelyn Lee. "Jocelyn, do you REALLY have to use Nail Polish Remover in here?"

"How else am I going to put this new color on?" Jocelyn asked.

The teacher shook his head and sighed; he wasn't even going to try to argue with her. Zeke glanced at the note in his hand and gave it back to Virgil. "I told you twice before now and I'm saying it again, watch your back. You should consider going to some sort of self defense classes so you won't get your ass kicked if I'm not around to help."

Virgil barely heard him as he was deep in thought. "...You know, if Steph considers giving Derek a second chance, I could expose him with Jocelyn Lee."

Zeke looked at the oblivious girl up in front. "That isn't a bad idea, but would it matter? Derek's basically got the right to do whatever he wants since your future girlfriend broke up with him. AND...that'd also be a dick move."

Virgil jolted. "Come on, dude!"

Zeke gave him an unamused look. "Virgil, if you did that now she'd probably be emotionally inconsolable until she graduates from college. So just wait for a while."

Virgil sighed. "Fine."

 **-XY-**

 **Hey everyone! It's been a while frankly because I have a short attention span when it comes to doing stuff. :/ However comma, I'm glad to report that I'm once again motivated to keep writing! If some of the chapters are too short-like this one, I felt like-sorry about that! It's just me and my attention span of a goldfish trying to write here.**


	8. Chapter 8

In the AV Club, Charlie shuffled through blueprints and designs and rolled them up. He groaned in frustration. "We are going to have to find someone that has the mechanical skill that Zeke does to help us build this."

"Why not ask Zeke?" Jeanette asked curiously.

"Because he doesn't want to help me build this. And I can't use Virgil's contacts either because he also doesn't want to help." Charlie sighed and hung his head. "How am I going to find someone?"

"You know," Jeanette piped up after a few moments. "I think I may know someone who can help."

...

Out of all the places, Jeanette led the short teen to the last place he would have expected:

Mr. Cunningham's classroom.

In the previous timeline, the World Civ teacher had been the group's detention supervisor when they had been caught as the Minute Gang. Everyone had liked him because of how laid back and blunt he was so Charlie was honestly a little happy to be able to see the teacher again. But now was not the time for reconciliations. He wondered who Jeanette's mysterious person was and their future involvement with the device. Would they be trustworthy? Would they ever really find out what this generator would power? Could they keep the secret and if they could, would the group have a new addition to the family?

Charlie tried to peer inside Cunningham's room. "Who are we meeting here?"

"Mr. Cunningham, of course!" Jeanette said.

Charlie's heart froze. "Wait, WHAT?"

Had Jeanette lost her MIND? No teacher in their right mind would ever help a student with a project like Charlie's, in fact chances were they'd turn the project into the principal!

"Wait, wait Jeanette," Charlie snagged her before she skipped into the classroom. "MR. CUNNINGHAM? The TEACHER?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well one, what makes you think he would help us? He's a teacher! Two, HOW would he even be able to? Again, he's a TEACHER. Not a mechanic!"

"But he is!" Jeanette argued.

"And how would you know that?"

"He went to the French Club's social event and he talked about how he finished fixing up a car for one of his friends," Jeanette explained. "So he's the perfect person to help us isn't he?"

"Well yeah, but-"

"Then come on! Let's ask if he'd be willing to help!" She didn't give Charlie a chance to protest and grabbed his arm, leading him into the classroom.

"Hi, Mr. Cunningham!"

"Oh, hello Jeanette," he casually greeted from the computer at his desk.

"I was wondering if you could help us with something."

"Sure let me just...check the updates for the tennis tournament game really fast..."

He must have been impressed because he whistled at the screen. "Who would have figured the score was going to be so high? Anyway," he stood up and walked over to the pair, "what can I do you for?"

"We needed help building a machine," Jeanette looked over at Charlie so he could take over. The short teen was still skeptical, but it was too late to try to bail out. He ignored his annoyance and searched through the designs to show Cunningham the specific part that he wanted help with.

"We need to build this."

He gave him the plans for building the main part of the teleportation device, the generator, which required a car engine to run. Cunningham whistled again when he looked them over. "What's this for?"

"Uh...for a science project."

Cunningham looked up at him with a 'really?' expression. "You're not a good liar, kid."

"It's more of a...personal project that we hoped we could later uh, present in science class," Jeanette quickly tried pitched in.

"Ehhh, I'll try to believe that." It was obvious Cunningham still didn't believe them, but he still looked through the plans. "It looks like it'll be a pretty neat project. When were you planning to start building it? And where?"

"As soon as you can start and down in Room 77. We can't really build the rest of it without this part first, so it's our priority at the moment," Charlie said.

"Hm...Do you have everything you need to build this specific part of it?" Cunningham asked.

"No, we have yet to find a suitable car engine." In all honesty, Charlie was a little disappointed that he and Jeannette weren't able to get the parts for the generator without help, mainly the car engine. If it weren't for Jeanette's quick thinking, they wouldn't even have stood a chance!

Maybe the device wasn't meant to be built, a small voice said in the back of Charlie's mind.

The World Civ teacher rolled the plan up and handed it to Charlie. "I can help you get an engine by tomorrow afternoon, at the latest."

Charlie's eyes lit up. "Wait, really?! You would do that?"

"Yeah, I have an old friend that owns a junk yard with unused cars. I could ask for a favor and get you one if you guys don't have another option. No strings attached."

"Uh...well yes! Thank you!" Charlie couldn't control himself and he shook Cunningham's hand profusely.

"No problem, the plans seemed a little complex so I can imagine it would be nice to get some help." Cunningham grinned. "I also just really want to see how it's going to turn out."

This guy was seriously perfect. How in the world did he end up as a high school teacher?

Charlie needed to regain his composure. "Well uh, we need to go. It was a pleasure talking to you."

...

Stephanie was showered with attention and little gifts throughout the day and it brought her some comfort, though it made her feel a little guilty as well. Chocolates, candy and cute little charms were stacked on the top shelf of her locker, so much so that she figured SHE'D be the one giving things away by the end of the day.

She kept glancing at the clock throughout her classes, dreading for lunchtime to finally come. How should she act if she saw Derek? Where should she sit? Would he try to reach out? All of her thoughts made it difficult to concentrate on her studies. She really couldn't do much expect hope that the day dragged on longer than it should to at least mentally prepare.

Finally, the lunch bell rang and she bit her lip. Maybe she should find a group of friends to just mingle with the entire time, maybe it would discourage Derek from trying to talk to her about their relationship. She found a group of friends and tagged along towards the cafeteria, staying silent as she pondered on possible courses of action.

When they rounded a corner, Stephanie saw Virgil-his clothes covered in food-quickly walking out of the cafeteria with Zeke. He seemed desperate to get away before he was seen and his tall friend looked furious, making Stephanie nervous to try to approach them. Somehow, she found the courage to dismiss herself from her friends and go talk to them. "Virgil? What happened?"

His eyes widened and he faltered in his tracks; he really wasn't expecting to see her.

"Hey Steph. Uh, I was just being a little clumsy in the cafeteria today." Chuckling sheepishly, he scratched the back of his head.

He looked so shy and embarrassed, it reminded her of a guilty toddler and she giggled. Zeke made a face and grunted.

"You're pretty lucky he didn't get you with anything." Hopefully she didn't sound as nervous as she felt.

The biker shrugged. "You never know with this one."

He still didn't sound very amused, but Stephanie laughed to be polite.

"I have a change of clothes if you need them."

"You do?" Virgil's eyes lit up gratefully, but just as soon as they did they squinted curiously. "Wait...Is it extra clothes for a guy?"

"Well, duh silly," Steph rolled her eyes. "I doubt my practice sweats would fit you."

"Why exactly do you have guy clothes?"

"Let's go to my locker, I'll explain on the way."

...

At least Derek's gym clothes came in handy. Steph was happy they were being put to a good use rather than sitting in her locker, reminding her of her relationship. While she rummaged through her locker, she noticed that Virgil was fidgeting out of the corner of her eye.

"You look like someone's going to come getcha or something," she teased.

"I don't like being here," he said.

"Why not?"

"Let's just say that after The Incident, it became exhausting to even TRY walking through here without hearing about it."

Stephanie stopped moving. How could she have been so inconsiderate about that? She couldn't even begin to imagine how horrible that must have been. "I'm sorry."

She gave Virgil the clothes and a rainbow lollipop. After everything he'd been through it sounded like he rightfully earned something from her stash, even though it was meant to help with a breakup, not bullying. "Hopefully this will also help."

He lit right up. "Wooww, thanks Steph!"

"It's the least I could do..." she gave him a reassuring smile. The sad thing was that she wasn't entirely sure if she was talking about the clothes or the lack of being a good friend.

Virgil's expression quickly turned sympathetic. "Hey are you okay?"

"Yeah, just..." Steph crossed her arms. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me. You're there for me whenever I need you. You were there when Derek was being a jerk and you had no reason to be there to stand up against him!"

As always, Virgil acted against her expectations and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey...We've been friends for how long now?"

He was talking so gently, Stephanie didn't understand why until she sniffed and felt a tear roll down her cheek. Goodness knows that if anyone started crying in front of her, Steph would talk to them the same way Virgil was talking to her now.

Feeling a little silly for her emotional burst, she chuckled and wiped her cheek. "Uh...since middle school."

"And how many times have we done something stupid, requiring the other-BY CONTRACT-to help?"

She laughed again. "A lot of times."

"Remember that one time we all got pretty scraped up after trying to jump our makeshift ramps?"

"Yes."

"Who was the one that helped bandage me up?"

"Me."

"Sorry who was it? I couldn't hear you 'cause you were kind of mumbling."

"Me."

"And who's the one that gave me the clothes of my ex-best friend, current-archenemy when I needed it most?"

"You make it sound so bad, I'm kind of afraid to say it was me."

Virgil waved a hand carelessly. "Clean clothes is better than Italian pork chop sauce, chocolate milk and pasta. Trust me, I became the expert a few minutes ago. But the point is that you ARE there for me, you've been there for me in ways you don't even know."

In ways you don't even know.

What does he mean? Stephanie stared at Virgil with wondrously wide eyes. Her female intuition picked out his embarrassment and she saw a faint blush across his face.

Her heart began to beat quickly and her face worked up it's own blush. The fact that she felt shy confirmed the suspicion she felt the day they talked outside the library.

She was beginning to like Virgil as more than a friend.

The second the realization dawned on her, her heartbeat changed. It went from joyous jumping jacks to pounding, rib-breaking guilt. How could Stephanie feel romantically towards someone else literally a day after she broke up with her boyfriend? The worst part was that they all used to be best friends!

No, Stephanie thought. The worst part is that I started feeling this way when Derek and I were still together.

She lowered her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh...I'm sorry about the gym clothes, but it should get you through the day. Or if you decide to go to your house to change really fast, your car won't become messy."

"Right, right. I should go get changed." He smiled warmly. "Thanks again by the way, if you hadn't heard it for the billionth time already."

"You're welcome."

 **-XYZ-**

 **Hopefully it's going well. I was stuck for the longest time on this chapter so I'm glad I was finally able to do SOMETHING about it. ^-^**


	9. Chapter 9

Zeke was still angry about how two of the stupid quarterback's friends purposefully ran into Virgil and dumped their left overs on him during lunch. Had Zeke made it back in time with his bagged food, he might have smacked them with their own trays, but he wasn't able to because he made it there after the fact. Needless to say, he didn't like how that stupid jock was picking on Virgil AND sending his friends to do the same. In addition to that, he wasn't sure how he felt about Virgil lying to Stephanie on what had happened.

It ticked him off at first because he thought he was protecting Derek or maybe himself from embarrassment at still being a target to occasional bullying. The more he thought about it, the more he came to realize that Virgil had lied to protect Stephanie and save her from additional worry.

Huh, Zeke thought to himself. It still didn't help calm his anger down though. He stomped up the stairs, unaware as to why he was heading towards the library. The last thing he needed was to take his fury out on Jay, so why was he going to the one place he knew she was at?

I just want to get one glimpse, he immediately thought and became embarrassed at how sappy it sounded. However, it was the truth. He was simply planning to walk past the library to get a glance and go someplace else to cool off.

Making it to the top, he was blindsided with surprise when he saw Jay speed walk around the corner across the library. Curious, he followed her.

"Jay?"

He peeked around and saw her leaning against the wall, biting on a nail as if to say, 'Crap I hope he doesn't come back here.'

"What are you doing here?"

She quickly looked at him and reared away slightly, acting defensively. "I came out for a drink of water."

"I saw that, I meant why did you come HERE after taking said drink of water?"

She hesitated and looked as guilty as a scolded kid, lowering her gaze to the ground. "...I was nervous about going down there to eat with you guys."

The fact that she was even considering going down to the cafeteria excited the biker, but the nervousness she felt surprised him. "What, why?"

"Well, because of everything that's been going on. I saw what happened the other day with Stephanie and her boyfriend and I've been worried. And then today, with those jerkwads ramming into Virgil..." She shook her head. "Just when I'm about to go down there, SOMETHING happens that makes me glad I never have."

Another reason why Zeke should find those annoying football asses and throw them in the cafeteria dumpster. Instead, he grunted and leaned on the wall with Jay.

"Things have been crazy lately," he admitted. "But they'll get over it soon enough."

"Get over what?"

"The whole situation with the cheerleader and her boyfriend. They're being a bunch of sour asses."

"I can tell," Jay chuckled at the name calling. "...You okay after, you know, almost fighting with that brute?"

He laughed. "Who uses the word brute anymore?"

"Well, I do. On special occasions such as these."

Zeke's breath was taken away when he looked over at her and saw her Vampire Smile-the endearing smile that showed off her two dull peaks that reminded him of a blood sucker.

She was starting to break out of the shell, she was coming back to him...

The realization made his chest-piece (ugh...HEART) leap in joy, but he controlled himself and nodded towards her messenger bag. "You're not going back to the library?"

"I wasn't planning to."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"...I don't know."

Now she just seemed tired and Zeke suspected he knew why. Back when he was a loner in middle school, he remembered how weary he felt at times from just being alone. Sometimes he had wished there was someone, just one person, to talk to. As he grew older, he became careless to the point where he couldn't give a rat's ass anymore. Jay was still in his middle school days, having days where she wanted to have friends. It's why she's been hesitant about going to the cafeteria to eat with them, he realized, and it must have sparked from the day they went out to the movies.

"Want to go to the weld shop with me?"

She seemed thoughtful as she met his gaze. "...Why not?"

...

Being up so high in the clouds, Virgil was sluggish when the final bell rang to go home. He was just so happy from lunch! Sure, two football players smeared him with food but he was looking at the bright side. He got to talk to Stephanie and he was pretty sure they were having another moment. For the umpteenth time, he ran his thumb across the rainbow lollipop. She was just so...

Amazing.

Beyond the pretty cheerleader, Virgil saw her character and her heart. He loved her personality, the way she was so hopeful about the smallest things. She was so supportive and caring.

He was happy that she didn't change from when they were kids. It was like she was a precious gem, unscathed through the corrosion of time, making her more valuable to Virgil who treasured their past.

He found Zeke among the sea of anxious high school students and he seemed to be up in the sky as well. Of course anyone else would have missed it, but Virgil saw it in his expression which was less angry and challenging than usual. Heck, he was even grinning a little.

"What happened with you?"

"I'll tell you later." Zeke nodded at his outfit. "So what, you went back home to change after all?"

"Yeah, I wasn't about to start walking around with Derek's gym stuff on me. I'm not sure how but that would have been worse."

Zeke nodded and changed the topic as the pair went off to find their third man. "So what's the plan for today?"

"The usual," Virgil shrugged. "TV, movie, video games, but what I can't decide on is pizza or Chinese? Hmm."

"Pizza," Zeke said in a heartbeat. "Holy hell, why would you ever consider CHINESE?"

The boys went to Charlie's locker, but he wasn't there so they headed to the AV Club. They were in luck as Charlie rushed out with an armful of papers and an excited gleam in his eyes. Virgil had seen that look before, so much so that it was officially dubbed 'The Mad Scientist.'

"Hey!" Zeke called out when the boys saw Charlie hadn't noticed them. "Where are you headed off to, nerd?"

"Oh! Hi guys. I was just going to work on a new experiment."

Virgil frowned and racked his brain. "You haven't mentioned anything about a new experiment."

Charlie gave him an unamused look. "Would you have actually cared Virgil? I was positive that this experiment was going to be no different to you than my feline communicator."

"Whoa, where did this attitude come from?" Virgil joked and held up his hands.

Charlie frowned in confusion. "What attitude? I was simply-"

"That attitude," Virgil pointed at him, grinning sarcastically.

"That's not-"

"Sass."

"-an attitude-"

"Ah!"

"Virgil!"

Virgil covered his ears. "It's too much, I can't handle it!"

"Well, it's because he's in touch with his inner Tyra Banks," Zeke pitched in. "No one in their right mind can handle that."

"Tyra Banks? Who in all the universal composition is that?" Charlie asked.

Virgil stared at Zeke. "...I'm actually disappointed AND surprised that you know who that is."

Zeke chuckled and shrugged. "I'm disappointed too."

"Look guys I'd like to hang out, but maybe another day, now if you don't mind..." Charlie turned and started to leave. "I'll text you later!"

"Nah ah ah!" Virgil jumped in front of him. "You're not leaving until you tell us what this experiment is. This is the first time you haven't said anything about it. At all!"

"I'm a little curious myself." Zeke blocked Charlie from behind. "What exactly are you working on?"

Charlie glanced between the two and backed up into a locker, clutching his papers tightly. "Uh-It's nothing important. Really."

"Am I going to have to stuff you in the vending machine again?" Zeke threatened.

"N-No."

"Then what is it?" Virgil asked.

Charlie groaned and kept glancing between the two, making Virgil suspect that this 'experiment' was really just a secret about something else.

"Charlie?" Jeanette appeared behind the group of boys, hugging her chemistry book lightly. She peered curiously beyond Virgil and Zeke to see what was happening. "Are you ready to start?"

It was like two pieces of a puzzle came together in Virgil's mind and his face lit up with a bright smile. Charlie was helping Jeanette with her homework and he lied because of what happened the day they came back from the past!

"Oh," Zeke muttered and shared a sly grin with Virgil.

"Hey Jeanette, we were just um, inviting Charlie over for some video games at my place." Virgil didn't know how he managed to say that without laughing.

"Oooh! Fun!" the spunky girl hopped like an energetic child. "Canary, do you think we can go after we finish working?"

"Uh, yeah. I'll think about it." Charlie zipped away from his two friends and hurried past Jeanette, guiding her away by placing a hand on her back. "I'll talk to you guys later!"

"Don't expect us to save you a piece of pizza!" Zeke said.

"Just for you Jeannete!" Virgil added sarcastically and started laughing with his friend. "I can't believe tha-I mean, how did he eve-What have I been missing out on?!"

Smiling, Zeke shrugged. "I don't know, I can't figure it out no matter how I think about."

Virgil sighed. Laughing as much as he did made him feel better about the day's events. "Well...I guess it's just you and me today."


	10. Chapter 10

Stephanie couldn't believe the AUDACITY, the NERVE, the-the darn near STUPIDITY. How dare Derek try to act as if last night didn't happen? To think that she felt guilty about liking Virgil made her blood boil. For all she knew, Derek could have had feelings for Jocelyn Lee way before Stephanie even thought about talking to Virgil! She shoved Derek away from her as hard as she could, careless about whether or not the students stared.

"I saw you, Derek!" she snarled. "I saw you kissing Jocelyn Lee at The Burger Hour and you're trying to get back together? Especially by telling me that I'm WRONG? That-That I somehow confus-?"

"Shh, Steph!" Derek glanced around and tried to lead her further up in between the cars.

"No! Don't touch me," she slapped his hands away. "I don't care what any of these people think, they don't even know the whole story!"

"Stephanie please. You're making it difficult for me to try to talk to you," Derek pleaded.

"About what? As far as I'm concerned, we've nothing to talk about."

"Yes we do! About what happened with Jocelyn Lee last night? Steph I didn't kiss her, SHE kissed ME."

The pretty blonde scoffed. She saw them with her own two eyes and it definitely seemed like he was going along with it.

"I don't care. You and I are DONE, you can do whatever you want, date whoever you want and kiss whoever you want," Stephanie laid out the hard truth. "But DON'T expect us to get back together, especially by telling me a lie."

"I care about you! She doesn't mean anything to me!" Derek protested.

She shook her head, closed her eyes and felt a single tear drop roll down her cheek. Steph wasn't really sure why she was crying, but she felt tired. "I've had enough, Derek."

"But Stepha-" he tried to grab her arm.

"No. No more," she blocked him. "Don't ever try to talk to me again or I'll talk to my parents. And my mom has already threatened to place lawsuits against you."

He froze.

The pretty blonde didn't wait another second. She walked away. "Goodbye, Derek."

...

Charlie and Jeanette had received an early ride to school from her mom. The short teen developed an idea roughly 10 hours ago and now he just HAD to run simulations through the computer in the audio/visual room.

Jeanette was sweet enough to bring along hot chocolate for them both and she sipped on hers as she watched her crush work. He muttered to himself, checked blueprints, calculations, sipped hot chocolate and scribbled things out in his notebook.

"Okay, my clever crow," she yawned and leaned next to him. "What are you trying to do?"

"Trying to make these pods sync up through the watch, through the generator." Charlie didn't really speak in full sentences when he was working. Everyone who's seen him work knew it was basically him spewing his thoughts out loud.

"Pods?"

"Makes it easier to teleport. No more resetting," Charlie muttered. "Just toss one."

Jeanette frowned. It was too early for this, but she wanted to understand. "How would the watch and the pods like...work together?"

"Run Mode."

"The what now?"

"Push the start button to run, stop when you're done."

"Hehe, that rhymed." Jeanette figured it couldn't hurt to try to lighten the mood up. Especially since Charlie was confusing her the more he talked. After an ETERNITY, Charlie gave a cheer.

"Just as I thought!"

"It worked?"

Charlie jumped up from his seat as Jeanette tried to decipher the computer screen.

"All I need to do is find some sort of tiny robots to be able to link up through the watch and then we'll be able to travel without having to input the addresses or make some sort of psychological link to read our minds or some nonsense!"

Jeanette only heard about half of what he said and even then, she didn't understand him. However, she showed support and jumped up, clapping her hands in excitement. "Easiness!"

The short teen lit up thinking she understood him and in a moment of pure joy, he hugged her and kissed her cheek. She was surprised at first, but she happily returned the embrace. A third person scared them by clearing their throat.

Chester stood at the room's entrance, squinting his eyes at the pair.

"Ch-Chester," the short genius tried shuffle through his papers but he made a bigger mess. It wasn't a big deal, a hug and a peck on the cheek, but Charlie knew that stuff was disrespectful in the AV Club's room. He was only grateful he didn't get the urge to kiss her on the mouth!

Oblivious to the situation, Jeannette waved at Chester with her usual cheerful smile. "Good morning there!"

He ignored her, keeping his suspicious glare on Charlie. "How are you today, Commander Supreme?"

The short teen still couldn't look at him and he shrugged a shoulder while snatching up his papers. "Oh you know, just working in the name of science. How are you? Good, I should hope so. Oh my, I haven't noticed the time! We've got to run along now don't we? I'll see you later."

He usually babbled on when he was nervous, however this time he purposefully kept talking so Chester wouldn't be able to. He grabbed Jeanette's hand and got the heck out of there.

...

If Virgil could rub his eyes he would, but he had to hold his lunch tray. He stood frozen, staring at his lunch table. Was Stephanie really sitting there? Maybe it was some other confused pupil. Maybe he was hallucinating and no one was there. He glanced over to the popular table and saw them whispering amongst themselves, taking quick looks at Virgil's table. So he wasn't crazy.

He approached. "Steph?"

"Hi Virgil!" Her smile was as bright as ever, as if nothing bad had happened these past few days.

"You do realize where you're sitting right?"

"Yeah. I'm sitting with you and the others." She said it so naturally, it sounded like she did it every day.

"Ha, okay," he grinned, taking a seat next to her. He forgot about Chester and Eugene and felt embarrassed at their reactions. They regarded Steph like a pop star and took a seat.

"Stephanie Jameson? What are you doing here?" Chester asked with a toothy smile.

"Y-Yeah, shouldn't you be over with the populars?" Eugene said.

Stephanie giggled. "I just wanted to sit with Virgil and Jay and-Oh. There's Zeke now."

Zeke plopped his lunch bag down and dragged the chair out next to Virgil.

"Steph," he greeted simply.

"Hi Zeke! How has your day gone?"

"Good. And yours?"

"Great, thanks." She looked around the cafeteria. "When are the others coming?"

"Oh, Charlie and Jeanette will probably be working on something. They've been working through lunch and staying after school for about a week now," Virgil said.

"Ugh. The Commander Supreme and his GIRLFRIEND," Chester muttered with a scowl.

"His what now?" Zeke was surprised, but his tone sounded harsh to Chester and he jolted.

"Wait, and Jay?" Steph asked, perking Zeke's attention.

He glanced up the far flight of stairs. "She should be coming down in a few minutes. I'll go get her if she doesn't come."

"Okay."

...

Zeke ate a little faster than usual. Stephanie was receiving everyone's attention and he felt out of place. Clutching his empty lunch bag, he excused himself and headed to the library. Remembering the previous day, he glanced at the hall before going inside. Sure enough Jay wandered slowly, deep in thought.

"Hey!" Zeke caught up with her. "Aren't you planning to go eat today?"

"I'm not very hungry," she said. "And I don't want to sit in the library today. I just...I can't force myself to go down there."

She furrowed her eyebrows and her eyes projected anxiousness.

"Steph is sitting with us today, if that helps at all."

Jay frowned. "She is?"

"Surprised the hell out of everyone, you'd think she's some sort of a star with all the attention she's getting," Zeke said. He jerked his head to the side. "Come on. Let's go sit with everyone else."

"...Okay."

Zeke felt like he was leading a kid to his first day of school. Jay looked around the cafeteria cautiously, probably expecting something to happening.

"Look who I found," Zeke said.

"Jay!" Steph exclaimed happily.

"Hey partner," Virgil grinned.

"Hi guys," Jay waved. The joyous way she smiled made Zeke feel happy. He couldn't help but to grin himself.

"You can...take this seat if you want," Virgil offered the one next to him. "Leave your stuff here to save the seat and go get some food. The mashed potatoes are AMAZING."

"Okay, thanks."

As she slung off her messenger bag, Zeke looked at Eugene. "Hey, can you scoot over?"

The flimsy kid didn't seem to be paying attention, forcing Zeke to snap his fingers in front of his face. "Hellooo? Earth to Eugene. Scoot over."

"Oh, oh, okay."

Chester moved a seat over, giving his chair to Eugene and allowing Zeke to claim the chair next to Jay's. The biker accompanied her through the line, seeing as how she seemed intimidated, and when they returned Virgil told them about the Top Ten program showing later that night. The idea of having everyone hang out to watch it excited Virgil, plus he was positive Charlie would agree to watch it as well.

Chester and Eugene cheered and high-fived, thinking the invitation included them. However, Virgil wasn't mean. He shrugged and welcomed them as well, much to Zeke's annoyance. He didn't let it bother him much, especially since Jay actively agreed to participate as well. He watched her eat and she must have seen him from her peripherals because she looked at him with a sparkle in her eye. The best part was that even then her Vampire Smile didn't waver.

...

Jay was looking forward to later that night. Hanging out with everyone again (and those other two boys) was going to be great! She was in high spirits and decided she wanted to buy a cold drink, the thought of walking through A-Hall didn't bother her. Midway down the stairs, she heard a group of females-probably cheerleaders-talking and it didn't affect her until she heard them say, "Stephanie."

She hurried down and around the base, leaning against it to eavesdrop. The cheerleaders were in the open, Jay didn't understand how they could just talk crap like that. They didn't even try to lower their voices, allowing Jay to hear every word.

"-understand if I were in her shoes. Especially with how Derek's been acting lately. I would have broken up with him too."

"I heard she caught Derek and Jocelyn Lee doing something and THAT'S why she broke up with him."

"But she broke up with him when he almost got in a fight with those two idiots. I was there, I heard her."

Jay scowled. Zeke and Virgil were NOT idiots.

"That was them taking a 'break.' Steph officially broke up with him this morning, out in the parking lot."

"It's understandable, but sitting at a different table during lunch? Especially with a group of losers?" the girl talking scoffed. "With her reputation she'll be drawing attention and not the good kind."

"How long until she becomes one of them?"

"She won't. Her reputation will be hurt of course, but she's been popular all through high school. She's a cheerleader. Everyone knows her by now. She'll just have people talking crap behind her back."

"Oh my goodness, I CANNOT believe-I mean how did she even know those losers?" The girl's snicker sounded cruel.

"I don't know, but did you see that nerd's BIG GLASSES? They were huge!"

Their laughter made Jay feel nauseous, as if their voices were some sort of poison.

"Ugh, that blonde she was talking to needs a better haircut. His. Looked. Horrendous."

"He was ugly too."

"Hon, they all were. They need a stylist to help them. Especially that girl that was sitting with them. Her jeans were horrendous. They looked like hand me downs. Ugh."

Jay felt a fire burn in her chest as she heard the roasts. THIS is why she stayed away from people. They were backstabbing, judgmental assholes that deserved to be stuck in a horrible loop for all of eternity. But the fact that they criticized her hurt her the most. She tried her best to be neutral to the crowd, but they had the gall to mock the quality of her clothes.

I'm better off on my own, she thought bitterly as she stomped away, leaving the cheerleaders to their roasting session.


	11. Chapter 11

Zeke ate chips as everyone socialized in the living room. This wasn't Chester and Eugene's first time at Charlie's house, which made sense. They'd been friends longer than Zeke had with Charlie and Virgil. However, they jittered in excitement at the thought of having other people show up (not including the scary biker, of course).

The tall teen was deep in thought. If anyone ever found out how sappy his thoughts were becoming, he'd have to weld them onto a bus and hope they'd get sent out of the CITY. It was embarrassing how often Jay was on his mind even worse, stuff that he wanted to do to her. Like kiss.

 _I should have kissed her before we jumped into the black hole._

A wasted chance. Things were going great. It wouldn't have been weird if he'd leaned in and kissed her.

 _The dance. I hope we go together again._

He grinned as he remembered that trip to her locker to invite her.

"What's up?" Virgil sat down on the love seat near the single couch Zeke was sitting on. There was absolutely no way this subject was being discussed.

"Nothing."

"The girls haven't arrived yet and I'm getting worried."

"Why?"

"Well, I completely forgot about the fact that DEREK is Charlie's neighbor and-"

Zeke couldn't help but snicker at where this was going.

"Dude I'm serious!"

"All right, all right. I'm sorry, go on." Zeke attempted to make a straight face.

"This is really the only place we could do this. Amy would have annoyed the heck out of us and you-"

Zeke snorted. "Yeah no."

"Exactly." Virgil tapped his foot rapidly. "...Maybe it was a mistake to invite her here."

"Dude, relax. We're going to be in Charlie's house watching a nerdy Top Ten show. Everything's going to be fine."

Virgil looked at the time on his phone. "It starts in half an hour and Steph's not here yet.

Zeke frowned and glanced around. "Jay isn't here either. Hmm."

The two friends shared a quick look before they stood up to go talk to Jeanette, who was having a conversation with Charlie.

"Hey have you heard from the girls?" Zeke leaned next to her.

Jeanette looked puzzled. "No, not really."

Zeke and Virgil stayed quiet for a second before moving.

"All right. I'm going to Jay's house."

"And I'm picking Stephanie up."

...

The tall teen had just barely got off his motorcycle when Jay hurried out of her house. "No, no, no. I do NOT need this right now!"

"What?" Zeke frowned. "What are you talking about?"

She ran into him and tried to push him back to his bike. "You need to go, you need to go, you need to go NOW."

"Why?" Zeke glanced back at her house in case he missed something. The curtains were pulled back and people were peeking through. Jay grabbed his helmet and shoved it in his arms, prompting him to mount his bike and leave.

"Look this is a bad time," she said urgently. "My parents are here and the last thing I need is for them to think that I have a boyfriend."

Something was off with Zeke, he kept snickering like a gossipy girl! Maybe it was the irony of the situation. After all, had things gone differently, he'd be here meeting her parents because he would have been Jay's boyfriend. One day soon, it would really happen.

"What's so funny?" Jay asked.

"Nothing, nothing."

"All right fine, whatever. I still need you to get on and go back to wherever it is you came from," Jay prompted him towards his bike.

Zeke shook his head. "No. Not until you come with me."

"What?! Why?"

"Because you were there during lunch, you said you would go to Charlie's place. What happened to that?"

"I changed my mind." She seemed rushed and she kept glancing back at her parents.

"Why?"

"Because I didn't want to be a killjoy."

"Don't be ridiculous, you wouldn't be a killjoy." Zeke was starting to feel annoyed. He wanted to shake the jitters out of her so she could stand still and have a conversation. "Why would you even-?"

"I just know I would Zeke, okay?" Jay finally burst, throwing her hands wide. "I was pissed because I heard these cheerleaders talking crap after school and it got to me."

 _Ohhhh. Shit._

Zeke didn't know what to say. "...Who were they talking about? Stephanie?"

"All of us!" Jay snapped. "...All of us," she repeated in a softer tone.

"Hey, hey," Zeke reached out and rubbed her arm, placing his hand under her chin to make her look at him. "There's always going to be someone to talk crap about others. You can't let that bother you."

Her eyes shone softly in gratitude. Zeke's instincts kicked in and he knew that at that moment, he could have stolen a kiss. However logic also warned him it wouldn't have been appreciated as her parents were peeking through the windows.

"Let's go watch tonight's Top Ten."

...

"Wow," Jay muttered as she took off her hoodie. "This place is nice."

Zeke remembered the first time he saw Charlie's house. It was fancier than Virgil's and about five times the size of his own. He took her hoodie and hung it with the rest on the coat rack.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"Let's go through here." Zeke led her to the living room where the others were socializing.

"Jay Bird!" Jeanette jumped up and tackled her friend in a hug. Hearing the nickname gave Zeke a pang of nostalgia.

"Hi there!" she greeted in return, then turned her attention to the others. "Hey Charlie. Chester. Eugene."

Eugene had a goofy smile and he waved shyly. "H-Hi."

"We're just waiting for Virgil and Stephanie now," Charlie said as Jay took her seat near Jeanette.

"Hm." Zeke mumbled, remembering Virgil's concern about Derek. Was he having trouble convincing Steph to come hang out? Zeke went to the window and peeked out to look at Derek's house. It looked like his family was there.

'There shouldn't be a problem today then, if she does come,' Zeke thought and made his way back to the living room.

"...yeah, okay may I get a muffin?" Jay was pointing to a platter at the end of the coffee table. Eugene jumped to his feet, snatched one up and plopped down next to Jay, giving her the request.

"Here you go," he said shyly with the same goofy smile as before. It was then that Zeke's blood froze. The shy smiles, the stutters, his nervous behavior, his will to get Jay what she wanted...

He had a crush on her.

"Thanks." She was simply being polite, but Zeke could see that her smile gave Eugene a touch of the jitters.

"S-Sure."

Zeke's mind went to overdrive as he remembered the previous timeline to the first time the gang ate out. He recalled that Eugene reacted nervously to Jay's Vampire Smile. At the time, Zeke thought he had poor speaking skills and now his jealousy made his teeth grit.

He went over to them and flicked his wrist to the side, motioning Eugene to scoot. "I was sitting here."

Zeke squeezed in between them before he completely moved over.

"I'll move over," Jay said.

"Nah, it's fine. We can all fit."

That was a lie as Eugene was squished between Zeke and the arm rest.

"Okay. So the only ones left to come are Virgil and Stephanie?" Jay addressed everyone but her eyes landed on Zeke for an answer.

He opened his mouth to reply but Eugene beat him to the punch, earning him a death glare.

"Yes. But I'm pretty sure we'll start watching without them if they don't show up on time."

"Oh," she seemed astounded he answered. "Um, okay."

...

Although Stephanie reassured him she'd be fine, Virgil was nervous as he turned the corner to get on Charlie's street. Out of his peripherals, he saw her purse her lips and look out her window. Probably to avoid looking at Derek's house, which was on Virgil's side.

Virgil was on edge while he parked his car in Charlie's driveway and led Stephanie up to the front door. He kept thinking that SOMETHING was going to happen. Like the universe was going to look down upon them and say, "Oh look, Virgil's been having an unusually good day."

And...send ninjas as karma for thinking about a bad shirt he saw at school today.

 _No ninjas, no ninjas, no ninjas. No ghosts. No...werewolves, whatever!_ he thought to himself.

The second Jeanette opened the door, Virgil jumped in and sighed in relief when the door shut behind them.

"Hi Jeanette," Stephanie greeted with a warm smile and took her coat off.

"Ooohh! I hope you like my merengue cookies Steph!" Jeanette hopped and clung onto her arm like a child. "You too Virg! I brought more than enough for everyone."

"Wow, thanks Jen," Virgil grinned.

The spunky girl clapped her hands and gave him a bear hug. "Did you just give me a nickname? Ohhh, Virgil! I love it!"

Everyone was gathered in the living room. Virgil wasn't sure if they were comfortable or not especially Eugene, who was squished between Zeke and an arm rest.

"Hey everyone."

"Virgil! You missed the first two storms!" Charlie said.

"What could I have possibly missed?" Virgil replied sarcastically and sat at the love seat. "It's not like they're all storms."

Stephanie sat down next to him and he only hoped he didn't smell bad. He knew he certainly didn't smell good either.

 _Neutral_ , he thought. _I hope I smell neutral then._

They all watched the storms, but for some reason Virgil felt a lot of tension. There was some from Chester (which was weird because he wasn't supposed to have any) obvious tension from Zeke, and some awkward tension between Stephanie and himself. Nothing like a little comedy to ease up there.

On a commercial break, he said, "I call dibs on the remote."

"What?" Charlie frowned. "Virgil, we're almost done with the storms. We can't just-"

"Don't worry. I'm changing it after it ends," Virgil rolled his eyes.

"Well, okay. Though I'm not sure if everyone wants to stay later to indulge in your choice of program."

"Charlie speak." Zeke chuckled at the confused looks the short teen received. Aside from him, Virgil was pretty sure he and Chester were the only other two that understood Charlie, but he still didn't understand how someone could just...talk that way.

"I'm thirsty, is there water I could get or...?" Jay was halfway in between standing when Eugene jumped up.

"I'll get it!"

Zeke glanced at him and stood up. "You know what? Jay and I'll go get drinks for everyone. Charlie you have juices right?"

To the boys, it was known that Charlie's mom didn't allow him to keep any soda. Only juice and (mainly) water.

"Always. V8. Caprisun. You name it."

"All right so...Jay?" Zeke looked at her expectantly.

"I'll help." Eugene raised his hand as she stood.

"We got it," Zeke said with a slight scowl.

Virgil tried to hide his grin. He knew Zeke was keeping Eugene from hanging out with Jay. He just wondered how long it had been going on.

After the show ended and everyone got a drink, Virgil changed the channel to watch Ridiculousness. After three episodes and a lot of laughter, the group disbanded to leave. They were leaving with a lighter note and Virg felt comfortable with that, he forgot that Derek lived across the street.

Stephanie's smile faded when she accidentally got a look at Derek's house. "Oh. There's...Jocelyn Lee's car."

Virgil felt like someone knocked the wind out of him. He wished he could have spared her from seeing that. "Um...Hey, I'm really sorry. For what happened between you guys."

As much as Virgil wanted them to break up, sometimes he wished it ended differently to spare Steph a lot of pain.

"I didn't want it to end that way."

Steph raised an eyebrow and playfully asked, "Oh, so you WANTED us to break up?"

"No, no! I meant that if or when you guys decided to end your relationship, it should have ended better."

Steph smiled lightly. "It's fine, Virg. I understood what you meant. But...it's okay. We're both free now. It kinda makes me happy."

"How so?"

"Well, for one, I don't have to worry about him and Jocelyn Lee anymore. I also don't have to do things with him because we're quote-unquote, the most popular couple at school. And who knows? I could probably end up with someone who is a better match for me than Derek was anyway."

"You sound like you have someone in mind."

"I kind of do." Stephanie smiled up at him as they walked to his car.

They listened to the radio and laughed at stories Virgil told while he drove to her house.

She unbuckled her seatbelt. "Thanks for the ride."

Virgil shrugged. "What's a ride amongst friends?"

He shrugged again playfully and he was surprised when all of a sudden, Steph leaned across and kissed him on the cheek. He reached up to touch the spot she kissed and he laughed nervously. "Wow, Steph. Um, th-thanks."

Steph laughed and opened the car door. "I'll see you tomorrow Virgil."

 **-XYZ-**

I was going to make Stephanie kiss Virgil, like actually kiss him, but...Eh. (Shrug) Anyaways, I JUST discovered that they have Minutemen on Hulu! (Squee!) So y'all can bet your asses I have and will keep watching it!

I also made a little "spin-off" story if you guys want to check it out. It's called **Family Ties**.


End file.
